Instructions

Bring 4 quarts of water in a large stockpot to a rolling boil. Add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water, or to taste. Drop in the kale and cook for 3 minutes to soften the leaves.

Lift the kale out of the pot with a slotted spoon and place in a colander to cool.

Add the pasta to the kale cooking water and cook according to instructions.

While the pasta is cooking, add the olive oil, garlic, and salt to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Add the kale and pulse to chop as finely as you can.

Remove ¼ cup of pasta cooking water and add it to the blender. Process until the pesto is fine, adding 1 tablespoon of cooking water at a time, only if needed.

Drain pasta, toss with enough pesto to cover the pasta, and serve.

Store remaining pesto in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Additional Tips

Of course, you can add nuts and grated cheese to the pesto, if you like. For this amount of pesto, you would add 1 tablespoon of pine nuts or 2 tablespoons of walnuts, plus ½ cup of grated Pecorino Romano cheese.